With full-feathered costumes, authentic artifacts and bells on their shoes, three young Native American brothers performed traditional dances Sunday to showcase their culture to Evanston children.
Dancing in front of about 50 wide-eyed children and parents at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, the brothers displayed their handmade costumes and performed traditional steps for an hour.
One of the dancers, Samuel Begay IV, 14, said he and his brothers see their performances as an opportunity to teach children about a culture they rarely see.
“I like educating the kids and letting them know there are still many Native Americans out there and we’re still going strong,” he said.
Samuel and his brothers, 13-year-old Jaime and 12-year-old Michael, live in Bridgeview and perform about 40 shows a year. Sunday’s performance at the museum, 2600 Central Park Ave., was their first in Evanston.
The Begay brothers demonstrated three dances for the audience before picking about 10 children to perform a finale with them. One of those children, 8-year-old Michael Neiberg of Skokie, said he enjoyed watching the dances better than trying it himself.
“The chicken dance they did was the best,” he said. “I liked dancing, but it was hard to keep up with them.”
Samuel Begay III, the boys’ father, said they travel across the country and frequently perform in parades and commercials. Last year they were featured in National Geographic magazine, and they also presented an award at the Native American Music Awards show.
The brothers perform many shows in the Chicago area because of the large Native American community here, Begay said.
“They have a good support base in Illinois, and little kids always want to learn more about this culture,” he said. “My boys really love their culture and they love teaching people about it.”
Because he doesn’t want the boys flying to shows during winter months, Begay said they spend that time practicing and designing new costumes, which they make as a family. His sons attend private school and use the revenue from performing to help pay tuition bills, he said.
Penny Berlet, the education curator of the museum, said the brothers’ performance brought Native American culture to life in front of the audience.
“We have a very diverse community in this area,” Berlet said.”I think the kids especially enjoy coming out and learning from real people, not just by looking at artifacts.”
In between dances, the brothers walked around the audience and answered questions about their costumes and dances. The younger Samuel said he gets a lot of questions about how he first became interested in Native American dance.
“I was brought up learning about the culture, and I started dancing when I was five,” he said.
Begay said his sons stand out from other Native American dancers because they participate so much with their audience.
“Many performers won’t let you touch their costumes,” he said. “But we encourage it because it’s all part of learning. Little kids get more out of a performance if it’s hands-on and they can relate to it.”
